Technology fails to achieve customer satisfaction

64 per cent of consumers unhappy with service levels

New customer service technologies are failing to improve customer satisfaction, according to a study by consultant Accenture.

The research suggests that 64 per cent of customers believe new technology has failed to improve service levels.

Automated phone service achieved the lowest ratings, with only 10 per cent of satisfied consumers, compared to 59 per cent for traditional person-to-person services.

As technology has assumed a more prevalent role in service delivery, the way it has been deployed has become an issue, says Neil Miller, senior executive in Accenture’s CRM practice.

‘I don’t think it’s the technology that’s letting people down, it’s the way it’s deployed,’ he said.

‘The cure-all is about understanding your customer’s needs and designing different ways of handling and routing customers.’

The decisions taken around the balance between service and cost is the problem with poor customer satisfaction, says David Bradshaw, principal analyst at Ovum.

‘Fifty per cent of the problem is companies keeping costs down and 50 per cent is badly deployed technology,’ he said.

‘You should never have to give your details more than once unless it’s for security reasons. The technology for avoiding this repetition has been around for 10 years.’

Bradshaw says customers demanding better customer service may have to pay more.

‘Companies like EasyJet and Ryanair strike a bargain with consumers for efficient but no-frills service,’ he said.

‘Customers demanding better service and companies proactively deciding to give better service as a business opportunity are the two factors for change.’

Jim Davies, principal analyst at Gartner says increased desire by businesses to make customers happy is filtering down to call centre initiatives.

‘Some organisations are really getting clever with customer insights and using feedback from recorded customer calls to drive different offerings and make service more relevant,’ he said.

Davies says call centre staff are also important, as the human factor can let down the benefits the technology can provide.

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Further reading:

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